The Orthodox Church commemorates today St. Andrew Stratelates and his 2,593 Christian soldiers, who became martyrs with him.
The Apostle Paul spoke of large numbers of martyrs at the time, but there were, certainly, many more after that, since only the number of those who were sacrificed in the name of Christ in the first three centuries is estimated at eleven million. Thus, it is not surprising that in the Christian Orthodox Calendar, we commemorate tens, hundreds and thousands of martyrs.
Saint Andrew lived around the end of the 3rd century AD and served as a military commander in the Roman army. Antiochus was the governor of the army. A small army corps, headed by Saint Andrew, who was praying constantly, defeated the Persian army, and, therefore, the Saint was praised by Antiochus.
However, Antiochus became rather hostile later on as he was informed that his soldiers converted to Christianity at the instigation of Saint Andrew. Antiochus then tried to force them to believe in the idols again but to no avail. He could not withstand the situation, and, therefore, ordered to arrest and kill both the Saint and his soldiers.
The Saints and martyrs of the Orthodox Faith are like a spiritual springboard and are exalted in the presence of the Trinity. Human beings live in a deadly world and have to overcome many challenges, tribulations, and trials that unexpectedly tend to mislead them. The Saints and martyrs who have lived their faith in secret are proof that the Kingdom of God is within human beings and is revealed as a miracle in the world.
Source: Church of Cyprus
